So three weeks ago I started a new fitness routine. I was pumped, ready to shake things up and continue to fuel my body through movement. Three weeks later I’m still waking up at 5 and 6am to work out, but I AM NOT excited to do the workout. It’s been tough because I love working out and I also want to make sure I’m practicing what I preach. Fitness is important, but what do you do when the fire in your belly fizzles out? For me, I’m currently mixing things up. I’m experimenting with some other workouts to find something I’m excited to do again. I figured why not go back and take some of my own advice? So, if you are anything like me, fighting to stay motivated check out a few thoughts below, and let’s tackle this thing together.

Set Realistic Goals

One of the most important things you can do when embarking on, or re-igniting your fitness journey is to set clear and realistic goals. How many times have we said something like “I want to work our more”, or “I want to lose weight”. While these are in fact desired outcomes, they won’t serve the same purpose as setting a goal like “I will work out 4 days a week, at least 30 minutes per day for the next month.” Setting a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal is something I learned about during my corporate gig many many years ago. I used to HATE the process, no lie, it required me to think, to invest some real mental energy, and I must say, it really does work. Probably for the same reasons that I hated it. For more tips on setting SMART goals, check out this link. As you get more specific and tight on your goals, you will more easily build a plan for reaching them.

In some SMART goal models, you will see that the “R” stands for “Realistic” rather than “Relevant”. I believe both are important. Being realistic ensures you have a better chance of sticking with the goal. You will make it strong enough to direct your path, but manageable enough that you don’t feel in over your head. For some, going from a crawl to a sprint, is just not realistic. If you haven’t been working out, and you suddenly want to start working out 7 days a week, 2 hours per day, well, only you know how realistic that is for you. Which, brings me to my next point.

Know Yourself

If you know in the very fibers of your being that you are simply NOT a morning person, creating a plan that says “I will get up every morning at 5am to work out” is probably not the best idea. I’m not saying there’s never been a case that proves otherwise, but generally speaking, you’ve got to be a bit more honest with yourself. For me, I actually know that the later in the day I plan to work out, the greater the chances that it WILL NOT happen. I actually do happen to be a morning person, so saying I will work out at 5am isn’t outside my norm. However, I do also know I must be in bed by 11pm or I will not wake up energized at 5am. Before your alarm bells go off, I do talk about the importance of sleep in the healthy lifestyle blog, I actually did a 2-year sleep experiment with myself and learned that 6 hours is actually ideal for me. I share all of this to say the better you know what works for your routine, the more that you can increase your success rate. Are your a night owl, do you prefer group classes, do you find that very structured plans work best for you? When it comes to structured plans, the team at Beachbody knocks it out of the park. They have so many varieties of programs, and all of their programs have very structured routines.

Another recommendation is to explore and experiment until you find the fitness activity that you actually enjoy. Sometimes people ask me what type of workouts I do. Yoga is an an obvious one, but I also enjoy running, kickboxing, HIIT training, and weight lifting. I am NOT so keen on cycling and spinning. There are sooo many options out there, you don’t have to force yourself into “the one” that everyone claims is the best. The best workout is the one that you are going to do, and enjoy on a consistent basis. And don’t be limited to things that sound like exercise. Options like joining an intramural sports team or taking a hip hop dance class hold their own as well.

SOMETHING is always better than nothing

So this last point cannot be understated. Do not throw away days or weeks worth of work just because life got busy or you had to travel. Life will always get busy, and routines will always be broken. Let’s say you have a plan to work out 4 days a week for 30 minutes, and for some reason your whole Saturday blows up, and you feel like you can’t get that last workout in, do something, anything to keep the momentum going. So maybe you don’t hit 30 minutes this time, but you step outside for a brisk 15-minute walk. Or maybe you can pull up a 12-minute HIIT video on YouTube. Your routine doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective, and making a conscious choice to still do something that moves you in the direction of your goal will pay dividends. It not only supports you physically, it will give you a mental boost to know that when given the choice, you chose not to break your commitment to yourself. You will build momentum, and the momentum will lead to consistency, and when you are consistent, the result will come.

I want to hear what advice you have. What other ways have you pushed past plateaus or overcome excuses or obstacles? We’re in this together.

Namaste,

Tian

This post was originally published on Creating Space Blog 8/23/19.